Maldonado gets life in prison for 2009 Stroudsburg murder

Friday

Aug 20, 2010 at 2:08 PM

“I'm not a perfect man, but I'm not the monster I've been made out to be,” Ralph Maldonado told a judge before being sentenced Friday to life in prison without parole in the 2009 murder and robbery of Blake Natal, 22, in Stroudsburg. Maldonado will serve life plus eight to 20 years after a jury convicted him in June of second- and third-degree murder, robbery and conspiracy to commit robbery.

ANDREW SCOTT

“I'm not a perfect man, but I'm not the monster I've been made out to be,” Ralph Maldonado told a judge before being sentenced Friday to life in prison without parole in the 2009 murder and robbery of Blake Natal, 22, in Stroudsburg.

Maldonado will serve life plus eight to 20 years after a jury convicted him in June of second- and third-degree murder, robbery and conspiracy to commit robbery.

Natal was beaten and choked to death in the Quality Inn parking lot on West Main Street on the night of Jan. 15, 2009.

Hours later in Lackawanna County, Natal's credit card was used and his signature forged. Maldonado's girlfriend and mother have since pleaded guilty in connection with this offense and been sentenced.

Myles White, 22, of East Stroudsburg later admitted to being Maldonado's accomplice in the killing, pleaded guilty to third-degree murder and was sentenced to 15 to 30 years in state prison. White agreed to testify against Maldonado if needed, but was not called to do so at Maldonado's trial.

At his Friday sentencing, Maldonado stood beside defense attorney James Gregor and read his prepared statement, expressing his condolences to Natal's family.

“I can't imagine the pain of losing a child,” Maldonado said. “Nothing I can say or do can ever ease the pain of your loss.

“I did not commit these crimes,” he said. “There's no physical evidence saying I did. Had I did what I've been charged with doing, I would not have had a trial. I would have pleaded guilty and taken the easy way out like my so-called ‘co-defendant,' Myles White.

“I know how the Natal family feels about me, but I must continue to let you know I'm innocent and fight for my freedom,” he said.

The victim's mother, Debra Natal, then told Maldonado, “I hold no hatred toward you. I just pray you ask God for forgiveness.”

“When I saw Blake Natal's murder reported in the news, I couldn't imagine how I'd feel had that been one of my loved ones,” she said. “I'm not saying my brother is perfect, but he did try to handle the best he could with the hand he was dealt.“Our father was murdered when I was 3 and our mother was a drug addict,” she said. “Ralph sold drugs to support himself, but he's never harmed anyone. The only ones who know what truly happened are my brother.

“Ralph, no matter what happens, you're my brother and you will not be forgotten,” she said. “May God bless the Natal family and also my family, because our pain has just been expanded.”

In response to Gregor's earlier comment about White being equally if not more culpable in Natal's death, Assistant District Attorney Michael Mancuso called Maldonado the “prime organizer” of what happened.

Mancuso also cited White has no prior criminal record, whereas Maldonado was arrested seven times for drug and other offenses prior to this case. Also, at the time of this murder, Maldonado was on state parole in New Jersey and awaiting sentencing in a Scranton child welfare endangerment case, Mancuso noted.

“This murder was something truly scary for this community,” Judge Margherita Worthington said. “It was scary because it was a random crime. The victim could have been anyone's son or brother. He was murdered simply because he had nice things and he worked hard to get them.”